Plant food feeder



Jan. 2, 1951 A. P. FLANDERS 2,536,361

PLANT FOOD FEEDER Filed March 11, 1946 INVENTOR, AUSTIN P. FLANDERS.

ATTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 2, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PLANT FOODFEEDERAustin P. Flanders, Contra Costa County, Calif.

Application March 11, 1946, Serial No, 653,686

2 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to improvements in a plant food feeder,and its principal object is to provide means attachable: to a gardenhose or the: like for automatically providing a fertilizing solution ofapproximate standard hydroponic strength from suitable hydroponic saltsor com plete plant food powder.

More particularly it is proposed to provide for this purpose a nozzlehaving a plant food container suspended therefrom, and constructed insuch a manner that a portion of the water pass ing through the nozzle isdiverted or icy-passed to flow through the container, and to sweep overthe surface of the fertilizer or nutrient for adding a desired amount ofnutrient in solution to the stream passing through the nozzle.

It is further proposed in the present invention to provide means wherebythe amount of water by-passed through the container may be regulated andcontrolled.

Another object of my invention is to arrange the control means in such amanner that the entire range of control may be effected by the turningof a control element through an are somewhat less than a completecircle.

It is' further contemplated in the present invention to provide meansfor discharging the water from the nozzle in the form of a sprayarranged in such a manner as to reduce the back pressure to a minimumand to also allow the water to be discharged in the form of a thinstream for watering flower pots and the like when the pressure at thefaucet is reduced.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will appear as thespecification proceeds, and the novel features of my pant food feederwill be fully defined the claims attached hereto.

The preferred form of the invention is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing forming part of this application, in which:

Figure 1 shows a top plan view of my nozzle arrangement;

Figure 2, a vertical section through the same, as applied to acontainer; and

Figure 3, a side view of the nozzle arrangement, as attached to acontainer, on a reduced scale.

While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, it should beunderstood that various changes or modifications may be made within thescope of the claims hereto attached, without departing from the spiritof the invention.

Referring to the drawing in detail, my nozzle I is mounted transverselyupon a cap 2 adapted for threading on a suitable container 3, whichlatter is intended to hold the fertilizer or nutrient.

For the purposes of my invention, it makes little difference to whatextent the container is filled with nutrient.

The nozzle l is formed with a cylindrical bore, which is relativelylarge at the rear end, as shown at 4, and is stepped down to a smallerdiameter in the middle and front portions of the nozzle, as shown at-5'. The rear end of the nozzle is formed with a suitable coupling iadapted for fastening to a garden hose in a conventional manner.

The nozzle is formed with two transverse or radial holes or ports I and8, both of which communicate with the container. The port 1" 6X- tendsfrom the larger bore 4, near the rear end of the nozzle, and the hole 8extends from the smaler portion 5 of the bore near the front end of thenozzle.

While these holes or ports may be arranged in any suitable manner, Ishow portions of the same embodied in a pair of screws .l,v which may beused at the same time for securing the nozzle upon the cap 2, the headsof the screws bearing against the underface of the cap and beingslotted, as at Ill, to give better access for the liquid.

The front screw may also be provided with a small cross-member H toserve as a screen to prevent entry of foreign matter.

The port area of the hole I is controlled by a valve l2 which isthreaded into the nozzle housing in alinement with the hole 7, as at l3,and is formed with a suitable pointer l5 sliding over -a dial l6, whichmay be calibrated to give the strength of the solution for differentpositions of the valve pointer.

A stop [5' limits the rotation of the pointer to an are somewhat lessthan that of a full circle, the idea being that the entire range ofdesired solution may be obtained by this simple adjustment.

A suitable washer I1 is provided for sealing the cap upon the container.

At the front end of the nozzle I provide a deflecting plate I8, whichpreferably extends from the bottom of the nozzle and which is intendedto diffuse the stream of water emanating from the nozzle in the form ofa spray, withoutcreating undue back pressure.

The hole IS in the deflector, preferably oval'or elongated in shape,allows the water to be diswater is made to discharge through the nozzle,

the main body portion of the water will pass directly through thebore,but a certain portion of the water will be diverted to pass intothe container through the port 7, and out again through the port 8. 7

At first, if the bottle has not been filled with water before starting,it will fill at the beginning of the operation. After the container isfilled with water, the by-pass water will continue to pass downwardthrough the body of water, to gently sweep over the surface of thefertilizer within the container, and then rise again for discharge intothe main stream through the port 8.

In this manner a small amount of fertilizer solution is continuouslyadded to the main stream.

The amount of solution to be added may be controlled by proper. settingof the valve I2.

It should be noted that in the use of my nozzle, I do not depend uponstirring or agitation of the fertilizer, but merely upon the gentlesweep of the water over the top surface of the same. There is novertical inlet tube leading into the powder or fertilizer, and the areasubjected to the gentle sweep, of the water remains substantially thesame, whether the container is full or nearly empty.

The deflector I8 is designed to produce a spray or a' sprinkling streamfor general gardening purposes and lawn sprinkling, but to changeautomatically to a small unbroken stream for watering pots or youngplants when the fiow at the garden faucet is reduced.

The deflecting of the stream is sufiiciently far from the nozzleconstricture to substantially eliminate back pressure, and this isconsidered an advantage, since any appreciable back pressure would alterthe concentration or would interfere with the operation of my device.

The main principle of the invention consists V in the diverting ofaportion of the water so that it'flows over the top surface only of acolumn of plant food powder, whereby the water is made to absorb thedesired proportion of nutrient, and then is conducted back into the mainstream. This is accomplished by directed fiow and varied pressure only,and does not require any orifices 4 small enough tobe stopped up ifparticles of the nutrient or impurities pass through them.

I claim:

1. In a plant food feeder of the character described, a cap adapted tohave a plant food container suspended therefrom and having a fiat topand a pair of spaced holes in the top, a liquid carrying tube overlyingthe cap and having an axial passage and a pair of spaced holes alinedwith the holes in the. cap and leading to the passage, and a pair ofscrews passing through the cap holes and threadedin the tube holes forsecuring the tube upon the cap, the screws having axial holesestablishing communication between the food container and the passage. 7

2. In a plant food feeder of the character described, a cap adapted tohave a plant food container suspended therefrom and having a fiat topand a pair of spaced holes in the top, a liquid carrying tube overlyingthe cap and having an axial passage and a pair of spaced holes alinedwith the holes in the cap and leadingto the passage, and a pair ofscrews passing through the cap holes and threaded in the tube holes forsecuring the tube upon the cap, the screws having axial holesestablishing communication between the food container and the passage,and the tube having a valve member threaded thereinto opposite one ofthe tube holes and operable for controlling the port area of said hole.

AUSTIN P. FLANDERS.

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Brunner Mar. 18, 1941

